Automobile headlight



T. w. POST.

AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED IAY 16, I917.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

T. W. POST.

AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT. APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1917.

Patented Feb. 7, 19221 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 \\\\\\m([ n? z W y y UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRUMAN w. ros-r, or PRQVIDENCE, anon]; ISLAND, Assronoit r0 wmmrsconsonrron, or TOLEDO, 01110, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

AUTOMOBILE HEADLIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 7.1922.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, TRUMAN IV. Pos'r, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Providence, in the county of Providence, State of RhodeIsland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomobileHeadlights, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to headlights for automobiles or other vehicles andconsists of an improved device for shifting the reflector to direct thebeam of light downwardly therefrom whereby to prevent the blinding glarefrom obscuring the vision of an approaching driver or pedestrian.

One ob ect of my lmprovement is to provide positively-operated means formanipulating the headlight reflector from the operators station in thecar, so arranged as to be easyot access from the drivers seat and underconvenient control by a simple movement of the hand.

Another object of the improvement is to provide anautomatically-operated switch Or cut-out device for the light toindicate the position of the reflector, whereby the operator isprevented from shifting the'beam to A an insuflicient extent.

Further objects of this invention relate to economies of manufacture anddetails of construction as will hereinafter appear from the detaileddescription to follow. I accompllsh the objects ofmy invention in oneinstance by the devices and means described 35' in the followingspecification, but it is evident that the same may be varied widelywithout departing from the scope of the invention as pointed out in theappended claims. A structure constituting one embodiment of myinvention, which maybe the preferred, is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings forming a partthereof, 1n which:

Fig. 1 is a side view.of a portion of an automobile showing my improvedheadlight applied to use thereon and. illustrating the operating-meansfor the reflector as controlled from a hand-lever located on thesteering-post Fig. 2, .a vertical, sectional view through the center ofthe headlight showing the operating connections for the reflector andthe double-contact switch for the light;

Fig. 3, a front elevation of the hand-lever connections andadjusting-means therefor,

break contact-switch K throu showing the casing in which they areenclosed-with its cover removed;

Fig. 4, a side view of the same, illustrating the means for securing thecasing to the steering-post; and

Fig. 5, a view showing a modified form of controlling-device for thereflector-operating means consisting of a push-knob applied to theinstrument-board or dash of the car.

Referring first to Fig. 1, C designates the chassis of an automobile comrising the longitudinal side-frames F, on t e forward ends of which arestandards or forks f for supporting the headlights H. Usually twoheadlights are used on the machine and their location and arrangementvary somewhat on different types of cars, but for .the purpose of thepresent illustration they are shown in conventional position. In mypresent im-. provement both headlights are of the same construction andhave the same method of operation so that it will be suflicient todescribe one ofthem in detail.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, each headlight comprises a substantiallyhemispherical casing or shell S closed at the front by a convex lasslens G secured in its rlm s. Mounte within the shell S is a parabolicreflector R, which, in accordance with the improvement disclosed in myprevious applhcation for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial 0. 148,924, filedFeb. 16, 1917, is arranged to be tilted to project the beam of lighteither horizontally or in a downwardly lnc-hned direction for thepurpose as above set forth. A convenient means for mounting thereflector R to adapt it to be tilted or displaced on its axis consistsin providing its rim 7* with oppositely disposed pivots or trunnlons tfitted to suitable openings or bearings 1n the shell S. Theelectriclamp-bulb L is held in a socket D which projects from the rearof the reflector R, thereby providing for adtrunnions t are arrangedsothat the reflector R will swing upon a horizontalaxis and hence the beamof light which is projected therefrom is caused to move 1n asubstantiallyvertical direction.

- At the rear of the shell S 1s a make-andh which the current passes tothe lamp-L. he switch K consists of a fork-like metal strip formedtacts. The switch-member K is mounted on the end of an insulating-plugor thimble 0- held in a sleeve-like bearin b of an adjustable slide B.The slide B is formed with a web 6 fitted to the contour of the outside.of the headlight shell S and adapted to slide vertically thereon. Thecentral sleeve b of the member B projects through a vertical slot s inthe shell S and its web b is formed with slots e, e adapted to receivethe bolts E, E which roject from the wall of the shell. Suitablethumbenuts E, E on the ends of the bolts E, E serve to clam the member Bin-placeagainst the shell and by loosening the nuts it may be slid up ordown to a limited extent as provided for by the slots 8' and e, 6.Through this arrangement the range of tilting movement of the reflectorR may be adjusted between fixed I A limits in the manner and for thepurpose as more fully explained hereinafter.

In Fig. 2 the electrical connections for the lamp L areshown ascomprising two wires w, w, leading from-the battery, generator or othersource of current through a conduit W. One wire 11: is grounded in theshell S at g and the other to leads through the insulating plug 0 andis'connected to the switch-terminals k, It will thus be seen that withthe reflector R tilted into either of the opposite positions shown bythe full and dotted lines in Fig. 2, the contact d will be engaged withone of the terminals k or kof' the switch K, so that the light L willreceive the electrical current therethrough. This construction of theswitch K provides that the reflector R must be shifted the full distancein order for the lamp L to receive the current for its illumination, thepurpose of the arran ment being to guard a ainst insuflicient ownwardinclination 0% the light-beam as more fully explained hereinafter. I

The means for tilting the reflector R on its trunnions t, t comprises,essentially, a

longitudinally slidable wire-connection U extending to a hand-lever orother manuallyoperable device at the drivers station. Re-

I ferring still to Fig. 2,'a flat, metal band V is clamped around thesocket D at the rear of the deflector R with the end of the operatingwire U hooked around its binding-screw o. -The wire U extends through atube Y which leads alon the chassis of the carto the steering-post ,orto any other convenient location as desired, see Fig. 1. As shown moreparticularly in Fig. 2, the. forward end of the tubeY is insertedthrougha bearing y,,riveted to the under side of the shell S of the headlightH, and secured therein by a set-screw y. Below the bearing 3 the tube isbent rearwardly in a wide curve to lead it alongside the frame-member F,to which it may be secured by suitable clampingmeans, not herein shownor described. From the chassis-frame F the tube leads up along thesteering-post P and it is to be understood, of course, that when twoheadlights are used, as is the general practice, both lights will havethe same arrangement of tubes leading therefrom on opposite sides of thecar. The steeringost- P may be on either side .of the chassis E, and inthe case of the light farthest removed therefrom its tube Y- extendsacross the space between the sideframes F at the rear of the engine, orabove the cylinders, if preferred, and thence leads up the post inparallel relation with the other tube Y, see Fig. 3. I

Referrin now 'to Figs. 3 and 4, both tubes Y, are joined at their upperends to a box or casin N in which the hand-lever ing-post P with nuts 2,a at their ends serving to clamp the casing firmly against the front ofthe post as shown in Fi 4. The lever-M is formed. at one end wit a hub mpivoted on .a pin m, pro'ecting from the rear wall of the casing and isheld in place by the cover N screwed to the front of thecasing as shownin Fig; t. At its opposite end the lever M is provided with a handle Mwhich projects through an opening in the side of the casing N. Pivotedon a pin 7' driven through the lever M is a twopart clam -member J.through which the wires U, I? are connected to the lever to be operatedtherefrom. The member J is preferably constructed with one of its halvesformed with a U-shaped oove 7" in which a length of wire w is insertedas shown in F1 4. A binding-screw 9 extends throug the two parts of themember J to bind the halves to ther to clamp the wire a The turnbuckles'X and X have right and left-hand threads at their opposite ends and areprovided with transverse holes a: at the center for receiving a pin orother tool for turning them. Through this arrangement the length of thewires U, U maybe adjusted'to takeup the slack and to equalizeequalizing-device to their action on the reflectors R to which they areconnected, the member J serving as an rovide for the same extent ofmovement by both of the wires under the thrust or pull of the lever M.The method of operation of the complete apparatus is as follows:

The two headlights H are set in fixed position at the front of the carwith the tubes Y, Y connected to their shells S by means of the bearingsy shown in Fig. 2. From the headlights H the tubes Y, Y lead to thecasing N on the steering-post P with as few bends as possible, beingclamped fixedly to the frame-members F at different points therealong,or attached 'to some other rigid part of the chassis C in any convenientmanner. At their upper ends the tubes Y, Y are fixedly connected to thecasin N, which is clamped to the steering-post by means of the straps Z,Z, at a pointbelow the steeringwheel Q, within easy reach of the orators hands. The two operating-wires U' are inserted through the tubesY, Y with their forward ends connected to the reflectors R by means ofthe bands V, see Fig. 2, and their opposite ends coupled to thehandlever M. After the wires U, U have thus been connected, theturnbuckles X, X areadjusted to take up the slack and to provide for ane ualized relation between the two re-' of the headlights. During thisadflectors justment the switch-members K at the rear of theheadlight-shells S are set so that when the reflectors R are insubstantially horizontal position the terminals (1 of the lamps L willbe in engagement with the lower terminals I: of the switches. Theswitches K are. adjusted in position by loosening the thumbnuts E, E toallow them to be slid up or down on the shells S as before explained.This adjustment provides for setting bot-h reflectors so that the beamsof light therefrom will be. projected forward at the same level, therebyovercoming any inequalities due to misalinement of the supportingmeansfor the lights. After the reflectors have thus been alined in relationby adjusting the terminal-switches K, the connectingwires U, U aretightened with the lever M in raised position as shown in Fig. 3. Itwill be understood, of course, that the switches K are wired to thebattery or other source of current. and the method of their electricalconnection may be varied in accordance with an preferred practice.

ith the parts of the apparatus'arranged as above described the deviceoperates as follows: Normally. the reflectors are mainmaximum range ofillumination.

tained in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 2 with the beam oflight projected horiprovide the I When, however, it is desired toprevent the glare zontally in front of the-car to of the lights fromblinding or obscuring the vision of an approaching pedestrian or driverthe beam maybe directed downwardly upon the road so that the brightestrays will fall below the level of the persons eyes. This is easily andquickly accomlished by simply depressing the lever M.

he downward movement of the lever slides the wires U, U through theirinclosing tubes Y, Y and their thrust is communicated to the base ofthe-reflector R to tilt the latter on its trunnions it, t. When thereflector istilted upwardly'at its rear end as shown by.

the dotted linesjn Fig. 2, the axis of the I beam of light reflectedfrom the lamp L will be correspondingly tilted downwardly. In this waythe light is thrown-down onto the road so that its strongest rays fallbelow the line of vision of-a' person facing it, thus preventing theobjectionable glare while still afiordin suflicient illumination for aconsiderable distance'i-n front of the car. In this manner the danger ofblinding or confusing the sight of the rson in front of the vehi- -cleis avoided, without cutting ofli' the necessary illumination as is thecase with the usual dimmer attachments now in general use. My improveddevice therefore has the advantage of providing a full illumination ofthe road in front of the car without obstructing the vision of a personapproaching from the opposite direction.

As the operator shifts the reflector from one position to the otherthere will be a brief interval during which the current is cut off fromthe lamp L as the terminal d passes from one contact It: of the switch Kto'the' other contact k. This interval is so short, however, as to bepractically imperceptible,

as far as the illumination is concerned, since vision of a person infront when it is the intent to entirely remove the glare. In otherwords, the provision of the automatic switch guards against carelessnesson the part of the operator and insures an efficient action of thedevice for the purpose intended. I

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a modified arrangement of thehand-operated means for shifting the light-reflectors-R. In thisembodiment of the invention the wires U, U are eonnectedto apush-rod' 2which is slidable through the instrument-board 3 or the dash of the car.As here shown the instrument-board 3 is represented as beingconstructed-in the form of a sheetrmetal position beneath the cowl whichsurmounts the dash of the car. A threaded bushing or sleeve 4 isinserted through an 0 ning in the-board 3-and secured in place y the nut5 and washer 6. The rod 2 slides in the bore of the sleeve 4 and isformed at one end with a'knob 7 and at the other with a cross-slot 8.The wires'U, U are secured in the slot'8 by means of the binding-screw9, and preferably they are connected by turnbuckles, not here shown, tothe ends of the wires which lead to the reflectors R in the headlights Hto .provide for their adjustment as before explained. By pushing orpulling on the knob 7 the wires U, U are slid longitudinally of theirtubes to rock the reflectors ,in the manner as above explained. Itshould perhaps be explained that with either arran ment of hand-lever orpush-rod the friction of the wires against the sides of their enclosingtubes provides a suflicient detent action to retain the reflectorsintheir different positions. That is to say, after the reflectors haveonce been moved to one position or the other the resistance of the wiresagainst sliding movement in their tubes will suflice to hold them inplace with the switch K closed, so that under ordinary conditions noother detent is 4 Various other modifications might. be made in theformand construction of the parts of my improved device withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention; therefore, withoutlimiting myself to the exact embodiment shown and described, what Iclaim is 1. In an automobile headlight, the combination with a rockablereflector adapted to be tilted downwardly to prevent the lare from itsbeam of light obstructing the VlSlOIl. of a person in front thereof, ofan electric lamp'in said reflector having a terminal, a

make-and-break switch having spaced-apart terminals for on with thelampterminal to comp ete t e circuit therefor, and-manually-controlledmeans for rocking the reflector .to shift the lamp from one terminal tothe other on the switch so that when the reflector is shifted aninsuflicient extent for the purpose intended the switch will act to cutoil the current whereby to extinguish the light to warn the operator;

2. n a headli ht, the shell thereoi of a reflector pivoted therein toadapt it to rock on a horizontal axis, an electric lamp mounted at therear of the reflector, a terminal contact-member projecting rearwardlytherefrom, -a cut-out switch formed with s need-apart contactsadaptedtobeengaged ythelamp,asouree of current connected in circuit withthe the combination with switch, and manually-controlled means forrocking the reflector to shift the lampterminal between the oppositecontacts of. the switch to direct the beam of light downwardly to apredetermined extent to reduce the lare therefrom while causing abreakin t electric circuit to cut ofi the light whenever the reflectoris,shifted to an in "range of movement of the latter, and means tooperatethe reflector from the drivers station on the automobile.

4. In an automobile headli ht, the combination with the shell thereo ofa reflector pivoted in the shell to adapt it to rock on a horizontalaxis, a lamp mounted in said reflector with its terminal projectingrearwardly therefrom, a. slide adjustable up and down on the shelladjacent the lamp in the reflector, a switch on said slide havincontact-prongs extending on opposite s1 es of the lamp-terminal tocont/am therewith while acting to limit the extent of rocking movementof the reflector, and means controlled from the driv'ers station on theautomobile to rock the reflector to shift the lamp-terminal from onecontact .to the other on the switch.

5. In a headlight, .the combination with the shell thereof,'of areflector pivoted within the shell adapted to rock'on a horizontal axis,means for moving the reflector upon its pivot, an electric lamp withinsaid reflector having a terminal projectlng therefrom, and a switchadjustable vertically upon said shell and having spaced contacts adaptedto be engaged by said lamp terminal when said reflector is moved fromone ition of adjustment to another.

6. n a headlight, the combination with the shell thereof, ofa reflectorpivoted within the shell and adapted to rock upon a horizontal axis,-means for moving the reflector upon its pivot, an electric lamp 1n saidreflector having a terminal pro ecting therefrom into said shell, and aswitch upon the shell adjustable vertically thereon and adapted toengage said lamp terminal to limit the movement ofthe reflector withinthe shell.

In testimony whereof I TRUMAN W. POST.

